Vehicle wheel



A. L. PUTNAM VEHICLE WHEEL Filed May 18, 1923 -L. 7 Ja Wad? A M v Cutout-m Patented June 15, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATIENT, OFFICE.

ALDEN L. PUTNAM, E LANSING, momen assmnon T0 moron WHEEL commanaxon, 0 Lansnve, moment.

vEmcL WHEEL.

Application filed May 18,

My invention relates to vehicle wheels, and its purposes are to make a wheel that shall be strong, resilient, in which the strains shall be sodistrilmted as to avoid crystallization, and that shall be cheap in construe-- tion and simple in assembly.

I attain these purposes by the shown in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l is a vertical section of a wheel, embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation. l igurei-l is a detail longitudinalsection of one of the spokes. Figure 4 is a side elevation o't'one oi the spokes. Figure 5 is a. detail side elevation illustrating the method of assembly where the spider instead of being integral is made up of individual spokes. Figures 6, 7 and 8 are transverse sections, on an enlarged scale, on

lines 66; 77; and 88 of Figure' i. I

Figure 9 is a sectional view illustrating a modified construction.

- of the adjacent spoke,

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the hub which may be of any 2 )proved construction. it is provided with a ange 2, extending in a substantially radial direction.

The spokes 3 are tapered longitudinally and transversely as shown in-Figures 3, fl, 6, 7, and 8. The inner extremities of the spokes are provided with projections 4 and dovetail notches In assembly the projection 4 of one spoke engages with the notch 5 thus holding the wheel together during the process of assembly. The completed spokes are rearwardly dished as shown in Pig. 1 and formed at the outer extremity so as to be attached by riveting,

welding, or in any other suitable manner to I the" the rim 6. At the inner extremities, spokes are clamped between a ring 7- and the flange 2 and held by bolts, rivets .or the like. the securing means, in the particular construction illustrated in the drawing, being shown as bolts 8 and nuts 10. The s 'iokes are also preferably provided near their inner extremities with slight oifsets 9. While I- have indicated the preferred form and the arrangement of the spokes, I

i923. Serial. 1%. 639,776.

tegral union at their inner ends, as well as their connection to the rim at their outer means ends, may be considerab y varied without departing from my invention. For example, in Fig.9 I have shown a construc-' tion of the spoke adapted to a .v type of rim 11 which is provided with an inwardly ex totaling flange 12. In this construction, instead of being recurved asshown in. Fig. 1, the spoke 13 extends substantially parallel with the flange l2 and is riveted to it; Many other modifications will readily suggest themselves and are considered to be within the scope of. my invention.

Claims 1. A metallic spoke for vehicle wheels, provided at its inner extremity with means for locking a' plurality of spokes together to form a complete spider, said means comprising a transversely extending dovetail notch on one side of said inner extremity and a projection on the opposite side ada ted to engage with and fit the corresponding notch on the adjacent spokej 2. In a vehicle wheel, a. metallic spider connecting the hub to the felly comprising a single series of'spoke-s lying in a common surface of revolution disposed at an inclination to the wheel plane, said spokes being of substantially greater width than thickness and tapered longitudinally from the hub and transversely toward the edge.

connecting the hub to the folly comprising a. single series of spokes lying in a common surface of revolution, the major ortion of each' spoke being arranged in a substantially straight line oblique to the wheel plane, said t n thickness and tapere longitudinally from the hub.

ALDEN L. PUTNAM.

3. In a vehicle wheel, a metallic spider spokes being of substantiall greater width- 

